Scream Factory has been the Blu-ray home to IFC Midnight for quite some time now. Some of these releases have been quite quality horror fare showing new, upcoming, and just plain out interesting directors with solid visions, other times it seems like a dumping ground for cheesy horror concepts with no place else to go. This month, however, we get 2 of the best and most interest modern horror films I have seen in recent times whether made by a mainstream studio or an independent producer Andre Ovredal's (Troll Hunter) The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and Jackson Stewart's Beyond the Gates.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

    The Autopsy of Jane Does opens with the titular corpse being discovered by a squad of police at the sight of a brutal murder. Her body is oddly perfect and preserved while  every body around her is beyond messed up. Her body is taken to a local family mortuary where a the Father and Son team of Tommy and Austin must immediately begin the autopsy on her for the local sheriff who wants results before dawn. As they begin to explore her body for clues in regards to her death, they begin to discover more than they  had expected, all the while strange things begin to happen in their morgue that show that this Jane Doe might not exactly be dead.

    The Autopsy of Jane Doe is without a doubt one of the best horror films I have seen in recent memory.  The film begins with a nice slow build that allows us to meet and develop our characters and their relationships, and their little slice of the world before it begins to incrementally tear it down. During the first, almost 2/3's of the film is a moderately paced horror letting its chills work their magic over the viewer. As the 2nd act comes to its close the film begins to feel more like an early 80's Italian horror film, most notably in the Lucio Fulci vein and begins to go completely off the rails. This might put off some viewers, but I absolutely loved this, and went with it.

    The performances from the cast specifically the leads (and honestly this cast is small) Brian Cox as Tommy and Emile Hirsch as Austin are superb, and they have an excellent chemistry. A small note should be made about Olwen Catherine Kelly who plays Jane Doe. She does not say or do anything at all, but the corpse in this film is played by an actual human rather than a dummy stand in, and as such her meticulously still performance is certainly one for the ages. The score by Daniel Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans is  perfect and sets a creepy tone for the film. The direction from Andre Ovredal's is excellent. He manages to balance a sterile tone with moments in the autopsy room with a haunted house vibe, and occasionally uses color in a way that channels Bava.

    Scream Factory presents the Autopsy of Jane Doe in a splendid 2:35:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer. Everything looks crisp and clear here, colors pop,  and detail is strong. I found nothing to complain about. Audio is presented DTS-HD MA 5.1 in English. The track is strong and helps effect the creepy atmosphere of the film. Everything is audible throughout with no issues.  Sadly the extras are pretty nonexistent only including TV Spots, Teasers, and a trailer.

The Film (4/5)

Audio/Video (5/5)

Extras (1/5)

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Beyond The Gates

    Two brothers Gordon and John are brought back together 7 months after the disappearance of their Father to clear out his VHS rental shop (he never upgraded to DVD). Among his personal belongings in his locked back office is a copy of VHS board game (remember those?) called Beyond the Gates. They put the tape in to see what it is like, and find themselves involved in a game of death, that might help them to solve their Father's disappearance.  If they are willing to enter the un-reality that exist "Beyond the Gates".

    Jackson Stewart's Beyond the Gates is a film I have been hearing about from quite some time as producer and co-star of the film Barbara Crampton (Little Sister, Castle Freak) has promoted the film extensively on social media platforms, and film festivals the world over. The film itself is an interesting film that shows that director Stewart and writer Stephen Scarlata have their head in the right place for creating interesting fantastic visions, and horror cinema. However, it is quite obvious that due to budgetary limitations Beyond the Gates doesn't quite reach for what it really wants to do. None the less the film is quite entertaining throughout.

   The film has an interesting visual style that blends a natural look with moments of the fantastic, and pulls that off quite well. It also is mostly well paced, and though the film isn't balls to the wall horror, the moments of horror in the film are effective in how they are used. The creature designs in the film are quite chilling, from their overall look and movements. 

     The main cast is pretty solid and has a decent chemistry, and perform the material well.  You can certainly buy into the fact that Graham Skipper (Gordon), and Chase Williamson (John) are long estranged brothers with a history, but the MVP of the film is certainly horror veteran Crampton who with her limited screen time as the hostess of the game on the tape manages to be an effectively creepy villain, and even in her moments of silence manages to channel the horror of the piece quite well. Though I overall felt the film was a bit uneven, I will return to the film for future rewatches, and certainly look forward to seeing what Jackson Stewart does next.

    Scream Factory/IFC Midnight present the film in a solid 2:35:1 1080p AVC encode transfer. Everything here looks mostly great. Detail is excellent, colors especially in the scenes involving the gate or going beyond it are fantastic, and blacks are deep.  Audio is presented with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 track in English. Both tracks are quite serviceable and show off the films score and dialogue nicely. The extras slate here is quite solid and include a Q & A with the cast and crew, a commercial for the board game done 80's style, a BTS, featurette, 3 commentaries, deleted scenes, trailers, and a short film.

The Film (3.5/5)

Audio/Video (4/5)

Extras (4/5)